Page 88 of Driftwood Daffodil

“Fuck.” I slammed my knuckles down into the red clay tiles and dug in until pain radiated up my forearm, making my jaw clench.

Atlas was my brother. He pushed me on the swings and taught me how to not break my hand when I punched someone. And here I was thinking about the sister of the man who killed him. He deserved revenge, not betrayal.

My father and Romeo were around when I was growing up, but not like Atlas. He was the only solid I had. It was my duty to avenge his death. And Novalee was the key for that.

I knew that the day I saw her in court. Kato Ford wasn’t very happy when I confronted his baby sister. If he could’ve jumped over that bench and slit my throat he would’ve. He would’ve gladly sacrificed any hope he had of a life after prison to protect her.

We could have Kato beat up, or break his bones over and over again, but nothing would hurt him more than knowing he couldn’t protect his baby sister. The suffering and anguish he’d feel while sitting helpless in his jail cell… that was what I wanted. That was what Atlas deserved.

Gazing out at the moonlit trees, I let out a sigh.

The rustling breeze and faint trickling of the fountain used to be calming. Now all I could hear in them was the sound of my brother’s voice. A faint whisper of the ghost that used to roam these halls. I could almost hear him calling my name…

“Gio…”

I shuffled my butt along the red tiles, away from my window.

The sound of my name was echoing from the halls and out in the yard, and I ignored them all. I sat up here and watched as my father’s men scoured the grounds with flashlights and radios. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone?

Saul had gone back and forth in the same clutch of trees six times, like he thought I was hiding in the leaves or something.

“Gio…”

My eyes shifted over to my open window. Atlas was getting closer.

I didn’t want to talk to him either. All I wanted to do was sit out here and pretend my father didn’t exist. He kept treating me like a kid. But I was a Mancini too, and I had a right to go to Italy with him and my brothers.

“Gio,” Atlas called. “Come on, little man, where are you?”

Not going to Italy with you, because apparently I’m too young.

“Are you in here?”

Ignoring my brother’s call, I huffed and hugged my knees. Atlas wasn’t the first person to come in my room looking for me, but he was the first to pop his head out the window.

“There you are.”

Great, I wish I could become invisible.

Atlas tipped his head and cocked a brow. “Not talking, huh?”

Nope.

He folded his arms on the window sill and rested his chin on his hands. “You do know that half the house is looking for you.”

“I don’t care,” I grumbled while turning away.

I didn’t want anyone to find me. Including Atlas.

“What are you doing out here?”

“Dad doesn’t like heights.” He didn’t like me being up here either. He said it was dangerous and I might fall. But I wasn’t a baby. I could handle myself. He’d know that if he’d just let me do things on my own.

“Ah, you’re hiding from the old man.” my brother nodded. “I can understand that.”

I lifted my head and looked over at him. “You can?”

“Sure, I want to hide from him sometimes, too.”

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